evil *

My cousin Jimmy had the coolest toy I ever saw. It was 1976, and the thing was already a few years old, so a pipe was missing and a peg was broken, and even though Evel's balance was now a little off, it was still the best thing ever!

My old man took me for my first bike ride on his '69 CL350 around the same time. I was on the tank, holding the crossbar and off we went from Pacifica to Half Moon Bay on Highway 1 -across Devil's Slide! That was it. Motorcycles from that day on. Add Evel Kneivel to the mix (nicknamed "Evil" because of his constant antagonizing of the po-po. Later changed to "Evel"when the stunt career started) and it was time to learn how to ride a bike, of my own.

As much as I wanted one of Evel's XR750s or one the Bonnevilles or that cool ass Laverda, I was still stoked to get that black and yellow Huffy. "Let's jump some stuff!"

Apparently Evel lost one of his first jobs as a miner because of trying wheelies with a huge Earth Mover. Rad.

The City. 1969.

Color Me Lucky.

Laverda 750

XR 750

"Oh fuuu..."

Later Fonz.

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